Improvised trip leads Canadian teens to Kraemer

Raymond LegendreStaff Writer

Tuesday

Dec 30, 2008 at 3:00 PM

BAYOU BOEUF -– An improvised road trip spawned by a desire to explore a similar culture in a foreign country landed a group of Canadian teens in the unlikely tourist hub of Kraemer this week.The trio, Xavier Huard, Renaud Fafard and Christophe Payeur, all 18-year-olds and all from the province of Quebec, flew to New Orleans on Christmas Day with little but the clothes on their backs. Their scant knowledge of Louisiana was limited to stories of its Cajun heritage and alligators.After hearing of a small, friendly town called Kraemer while visiting a state park, the friends walked miles of highway and back roads and hitchhiked before arriving in the north Lafourche community Sunday.The trio, who met four years ago in an improvisational high-school theater class, were immediately adopted by locals, who peppered them with questions Sunday at the community’s only restaurant.They camped out in a small tent near the Larousse Boat Launch off La. 307.On their second day, the friends said they had enjoyed seeing the swamps, listening to old-timers speak Cajun French and basking in freedom and uncertainty.They planned to stay there one additional day, before attempting to hitchhike to Grand Isle.“We are far away from our families,” said Fafard, a tall, slender youth with dark hair whose English came in bursts after much deliberation. “It’s total liberty. We wake up in the morning, and we have zero idea what we will do that day.”The group lives in Trois-Rivieres, which is French for three rivers. Located halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres was founded in 1634 and boasts a population in excess of 100,000, according to the most recent Canadian census.Huard and Payeur earn money performing theater-type productions for tourists. Fafard is preparing to go to school to become a welder. The group said friends and family reacted with confusion then support upon learning of the trip. “In our country, people say you’re crazy to do this trip,” said Huard, who wore a blue bandana and spoke the most fluent English of the three. “One of our friends said ‘You’re crazy, but you’re always hitchhiking everywhere.’ ”Once they decided to fly to south Louisiana, Huard said he and his friends did not make a to-do list or a plan of action for when they arrived. Instead, they focused more attention on a going-away party.“We put clothes in a bag, but we really didn’t know anything about the country,” Huard said. “We knew there were alligators and French people.”Huard conceded there were moments when he questioned his decision to leave home as he walked between New Orleans and Kraemer.“After we walked a while, we thought why are we not on the beach with a beautiful girl and what are we doing,” Huard said. “But when we arrived, it was our pay.”A chilly Sunday night did nothing to curb their reverie.“Everybody says it’s cold, but for us it’s a summery day,” Huard said, explaining that his city sometimes gets as much as 10 feet of snow in a short time.The trio enjoyed the “summery” conditions and got their first glimpses of bald eagles and egrets Monday morning during a two-hour boat tour provided by Kraemer resident Kevin Torres.Torres, whose family owns a nearby boat-tour business, said the travelers’ story fascinated him when he first met them at Trudy’s Restaurant Sunday night.“I told them, ‘Y’all are crazy,’ ” Torres said. He explained that he admires their spirit but would not engage in such a voyage himself.“It takes unique people to leave a country that far away with just plane tickets and sleeping bags,” Torres said.While others see a tight-rope wire and no net, the friends see only the glorious view from above.“My family knows it’s a good project,” Fafard said. “When we’re young, it’s a good idea to explore.”In exchange for this youthful exploration, they will have stories to tell upon returning home and as old men.“Our job is to tell stories to people,” said Huard of his and Payeur’s theater group. “When we return, everybody will want to hear stories we give to them about our trip.”

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